Immunizing the Rabbis?

[This week’s Haveil Havalim is here]

Esser Agaroth notes that an Israeli Knesset member, Michael Ben-Ari, has put forth a bill to immunize rabbis from prosecution for halachic statements. After all, Knesset ministers are immunized from prosecution for their remarks, even when those remarks are against the state.

Presumably, this is meant to protect proclamations like the recent letter against selling/renting out homes in Tzfat, and it could easily go much further.

The article at Esser Agaroth points out certain problems with this bill, but I’d like to add one: The great need, from a Torah, halachic perspective, for rabbis to convince the public of their positions. It’s not for nothing that the leaders of every generation, from Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananiah (debates in Bei Avidan) to Rav Saadia Gaon (Emunot v’Deiot) to Rambam (Moreh haNevuchim) to Rav Moshe Isserles (Torat ha’Olah) to Rav Shamshon Raphael Hirsch (Horeb), endeavored to explain Torah and halachah in a way that would appeal to the community.

Maybe this is a difference between the Israeli and non-Israeli rabbinate. Perhaps fighting for the sanctity of Israel and the future of its Jewish communities emboldens the rabbis involved, and reinforces their sense that they need be beholden to no one. Indeed, לא תגורו מפני איש, a judge in court is not permitted to fear repercussions! But the approach seems counterproductive in the public arena, because such brazen disregard for the opinions of the greater population, and such clear contempt for diplomacy, only guarantees alienation of the great majority of listeners.

Perhaps having a significant population which rallies to your strongly worded positions makes you feel less obligated to reach out beyond – but then why make these statements at all? Do we speak only for the sake of hearing the echoes in our ears? If a rabbi speaks in his own forest, is there a sound?

To me, immunity would just provide incentive for more out-there, devil-may-care (so to speak) bombast. I’d rather see no immunity, and a greater attempt to win the battle for hearts and minds.

Evading formal government censure has never been the barometer of rabbinic success, you know. להגדיל תורה ולהאדירה (to elevate Torah and bring it glory) is the classic litmus test.

Ha'aretz reports: Miracles in Israeli Elections Carry Livni to Victory

(With apologies here and here and especially to Rochel Imenu here.)

Ha'aretz (not!) is reporting that as Israeli elections came to a close, numerous stories circulated in Tel Aviv about Divine intervention guiding voters safely through the elections.

From tales of men who were on their way to vote for right-wing parties and were held back as their Tzitzit became entangled in chairs, to the Central Election Committee’s decision to prohibit Gd from blessing Israeli voters who cast votes for Torah parties, the realm of the supernatural was unusually involved in Tuesday’s ballot.

Avigdor Lieberman was seen wandering the streets in an exhilarated fog, mumbling, “נס מן השמים, It’s a miracle from Heaven,” thanking Gd for the narrow gap between Kadima and Likud that would enable him to play kingmaker in upcoming coalition talks. Lieberman denied outright the allegations that he had sold his soul to Satan, though.

Perhaps the most striking story was repeated by dozens of Tel Aviv voters. Speaking in tones of awe, and telling remarkably consistent stories, they reported seeing a woman in black on various street corners and outside polling stations, warning them away from traffic jams and voting sites with long lines, directing them elsewhere to cast their ballots. “Get out of here! It’s dangerous!” she was reported to have shouted at them in Arabic.

Many reported that the woman advised them to vote for Tzipi Livni, and even slipped them 100-shekel bills as they emerged from voting.

The woman was mysterious, dressed in black pants and a black shirt. Some voters were brave enough to address her directly, and ask for her name. She smiled and replied only, איזבל אמכם (your mother Jezebel), and disappeared.

Is "Wish me luck, I'll need it" a winning Israeli political slogan?

Ehud Barak wants to know: Do you feel lucky?

This from the Jerusalem Post's website this evening:

Not long after launching an advertising blitz portraying Labor Party chairman Ehud Barak as neither trendy nor nice, but as a leader, the party unveiled the second phase of its election campaign on Thursday evening.
The new effort features Labor's Knesset candidates, divided into clusters of four with Barak at the center of each, next to the popular Mediterranean phrase "Hamsa hamsa" (a local variant of "knock on wood").
"We have chosen to send the obvious message: We have the best team," Labor campaign manager Mordi Amar said Thursday.
...
"'Hamsa hamsa' is commonly said about something that is good and works, when the subtext is 'don't jinx it,'" added Amar.

Let's not talk around it - a hamsa is a good luck charm.

I don't know. I'm trying to picture an ad campaign with Barack Obama holding a lucky rabbit's foot... or Joe Biden with a four leaf clover... or John McCain in a Vegas casino... or Sarah Palin with her fingers crossed... and it's just not doing it for me.

I don't mean that this ad campaign doesn't speak to me at all; it does, but this is what it's saying:

"Vote for Barak - you might just get lucky."

"A vote for Labor, and a hot pair of dice, will help you win big at the tables."

"I won't change my lucky socks until Election Day."

"It's better to be lucky than good, right?"

"Ein mazal l'Yisrael!"

Maybe this is just the logical message for people who see Ehud Barak "as a leader."

Or maybe Labor really is flat out of ideas.